Draft Steals

Redskins Locker Room

FIRST ROUND
QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh, No. 11 overall -- The top three quarterbacks in this draft were essentially equal according to my grades, so it was a big victory for the Steelers to get a guy with the same rating as Eli Manning and Philip Rivers all the way down at No. 11.
DE Will Smith, New Orleans, No. 18 -- Smith is a natural, experienced pass rusher who was in my top 10 for most of the year. He will be a consistent, reliable presence for the Saints and could have gone as high as No. 8 without much argument.
DE Kenechi Udeze, Minnesota, No. 20 -- The Vikings moved down and still were able to fill their need for speed off the edge. People around the league were not too concerned about a late-season shoulder injury, and Minnesota gets a guy who will round out a formidable front four.
DT Vince Wilfork, New England, No. 21 -- There was talk the Patriots might trade up to get Wilfork, but Oklahoma DT Tommie Harris dropping to No. 14 meant Wilfork fell in the lap of Bill Belichick. A rare athlete at 328 pounds, Wilfork had huge workouts that boosted his stock immensely.

Steven Jackson is now the St. Louis Rams' heir apparent to Marshall Faulk.
RB Steven Jackson, St. Louis, No. 24 -- The Rams moved up to get Jackson, a multi-dimensional threat and the best back in the draft, after several teams passed on him. This is the second-lowest pick ever for the first running back taken in a draft.
CB Chris Gamble, Carolina, No. 28 -- He is not a tough run-support corner and lacks experience at the position, but with his athletic ability, Gamble has a lot of upside. He did not have a great workout but has a chance to be a very good cover man with a little coaching and experience.
WR Michael Jenkins, Atlanta, No. 29 -- Jenkins will give QB Michael Vick and WR Peerless Price some much-needed help. He is a big, tough, polished wideout who has a great attitude and is very nearly the same player as former Washington WR Reggie Williams, who went ninth overall to Jacksonville.

SECOND ROUND
TE Ben Troupe, Tennessee, No. 40 overall -- I had him rated as a certain late-first round pick, but Georgia TE Ben Watson came off the board first and allowed Troupe to fall to the Titans, who needed an athletic, pass-catching tight end after the retirement of Frank Wycheck.
OG Justin Smiley, San Francisco, No. 46 -- Technically sound and has a lot of natural ability. Smiley also has great feet and mobility, and he spent his college career banging heads with some of the top defensive linemen in the nation in the SEC. There was speculation he could go in the first round, so Smiley is a bargain here.

THIRD ROUND
DT Darnell Dockett, Arizona, No. 64 overall -- Dockett could have been the top pick in the second round without an argument from me, so getting him with the first pick of the third round is a great value. If he can stay focused and maximize his potential, Dockett will be a force, and even if he doesn't, the Cardinals don't lose much by missing on a third-round selection.
DT Randy Starks, Tennessee, No. 71 -- Starks could have been a top-20 overall pick in the 2005 draft had he gone back to Maryland for another year, so finding a player with that kind of natural ability in this year's third round is a pretty good deal. Starks has size, athleticism and talent, so with a little more seasoning he could turn into a heck of a player.
CB Derrick Strait, New York Jets, No. 76 -- Did not put on a big-time performance at the Senior Bowl but still had second-round value. Strait is excellent in run support and at times was a better player than former teammate and current Tennessee Titans corner Andre Woolfolk.
DB Matt Ware, Philadelphia, No. 89 -- Graded out as a late-first or early second-round pick because of his size and versatility. He will have to define himself as either a safety or corner in the NFL, but his size and athleticism give him the potential to be an effective player.

FOURTH ROUND
LB Demorrio Williams, Atlanta, No. 101 overall -- Williams is a fast, tough linebacker who had a great senior year at Nebraska. He is a great open-field tackler who needs to work on his coverage skills, but he will be a special-teams dynamo as a rookie and could ultimately become a very good weakside linebacker.
CB Will Poole, Miami, No. 102 -- Miami did not bring in enough players via the draft, but getting a guy with late-first round ability at this point in the fourth round is quite a deal. He dropped because of a subpar workout and some character concerns, but Poole should immediately become Miami's fourth corner and ultimately be a good overall player.
DE Bo Schobel, Tennessee, No. 103 -- My colleague Chris Mortensen sampled the league and had Schobel rated as a possible early-second round pick because of his hustle, determination and phenomenal senior year. To get a dedicated pass-rusher with a great motor at this point is an excellent choice.
DT Isaac Sopoaga, San Francisco, No. 104 -- Not an instinctive player but plays low and has enormous strength. He battled through a minor knee injury but was definitely rated higher than the early fourth round.
CB Nathan Vasher, Chicago, No. 110 -- Has a chance right away to be Chicago's fourth corner and also has excellent punt-return skills.
DT Matthias Askew, Cincinnati, No. 114 -- Had an inconsistent junior year at Michigan State but also has great upside because of his size and physical skills.
OT Nat Dorsey, Minnesota, No. 115 -- Lived off the great game he had against Julius Peppers during his freshman year and never quite got to the highest level possible, but Dorsey has good size and three years of starting experience in the ACC.

FIFTH ROUND
DE Antonio Smith, Arizona, No. 135 overall -- A former JUCO star who improved greatly during his senior season at OSU, Smith has enough pass-rush potential that he was a possible third-round pick.
DT Rodney Leslie, New Orleans, 139 -- Had some injury problems but was one of the top players in the Pac-10 when healthy. Leslie needs to prove his durability, but a fifth-rounder is worth the risk where that is concerned.
DT Chad Lavalais, Atlanta, No. 142 -- Lavalais made all kinds of plays for the co-national champion LSU Tigers with his size and strength.
S Jason Shivers, St. Louis, No. 158 -- Led Arizona State in tackles for three straight seasons thanks to his size and athleticism.
WR P.K. Sam, New England, No. 164 -- Is now the biggest wide receiver on the roster in New England and has enough raw physical skills that he could have been a solid late-first or early second-round pick in the '05 draft.
LB Robert Reynolds, Tennessee, No. 165 -- Reynolds is a tough, productive player who will lend some depth to the linebacker corps behind the Titans' rebuilt defensive line.

SIXTH ROUND
OT Kelly Butler, Detroit, No. 172 overall -- Would have been better served to head back to Purdue for his senior year but still could have been a second-rounder this year with his physical talent.
CB Greg Brooks, Cincinnati, No. 183 -- A good special teams player who will be a nickel back or dime back at worst and has a spunky, aggressive approach to the game.
S Etric Pruitt, Atlanta, No. 186 -- Pruitt was a tackling machine at Southern Miss, where he was a teammate of Greg Brooks, and will be an excellent special-teamer to begin his career.
WR Clarence Moore, Baltimore, No. 199 -- Could eventually be the big wideout the Ravens need and will immediately be their fourth or fifth wideout. Moore had three excellent years at Northern Arizona, showing the athletic ability and natural receiving skills to get open and make the tough catches.
QB Jeff Smoker, St. Louis, No. 201 -- Smoker came off the board later than a few quarterbacks with lower grades in light of personal problems that caused him to miss a good part of his junior year, but he is in the perfect system under quarterback guru Mike Martz and could maybe develop into a starter somewhere down the road.

SEVENTH ROUND
WR Mark Jones, Tampa Bay, No. 206 overall -- A very versatile player who will be able to return punts immediately, finished his career at Tennessee as a slot receiver and also got experience in the defensive secondary with the Vols.
DE Raheem Orr, Houston, No. 210 -- Showed pass-rush ability at Rutgers and is well suited to being an outside linebacker in the Texans' 3-4 scheme.
RB Quincy Wilson, Atlanta, No. 219 -- A strong, determined runner with great balance. He coughed the ball up a few times and is not a speed burner, but his best games came against West Virginia's biggest opponents and he is one of the hardest-working players to come out this year. A seventh-round super steal for the Falcons.
C Scott Wells, Green Bay, No. 251 -- A hard-nosed, technically-sound anchor with great strength who is a potential starter as a rookie.
DE Isaac Hilton, New York Giants, No. 253 -- Was dominant at the Division I-AA level -- had 50 tackles for loss over the last two years at Hampton.

__________________ "I'm used to winning, coming from the University of Miami. " Clinton Portis

i havent hear mel say anythign about him. In fact Kiper was who said that he would never start. Its other peopel that ive seen say he has a lot of upside. I dont know what makes him different than Ben Troupe or Ben Watson, hell he put up the best stats. What made him a third round pick (which some peopel thoguth was to high for him) and not one of the top five tes

__________________ "I'm used to winning, coming from the University of Miami. " Clinton Portis

i havent hear mel say anythign about him. In fact Kiper was who said that he would never start. Its other peopel that ive seen say he has a lot of upside. I dont know what makes him different than Ben Troupe or Ben Watson, hell he put up the best stats. What made him a third round pick (which some peopel thoguth was to high for him) and not one of the top five tes

I heard him say that cooley could be a great pick for us, I never heard him say he wouldn't start, I can't remember his exact word's, but he was really exited about our pick of cooley.

i havent hear mel say anythign about him. In fact Kiper was who said that he would never start. Its other peopel that ive seen say he has a lot of upside. I dont know what makes him different than Ben Troupe or Ben Watson, hell he put up the best stats. What made him a third round pick (which some peopel thoguth was to high for him) and not one of the top five tes

I have to agree with Offiss, I heard Mel Kiper compliment Cooley and call ham the next Clint Didier.
My favorite big steal of the draft is New England getting LSU DE Marquise Hill with the 63rd pick. This guy us a monster at 6' 6" and 300 pounds. He is solid against the run and is a great pass rusher. I wanted the Redskins to get him, he is (in my estimation) the best DE in this draft.

i havent hear mel say anythign about him. In fact Kiper was who said that he would never start. Its other peopel that ive seen say he has a lot of upside. I dont know what makes him different than Ben Troupe or Ben Watson, hell he put up the best stats. What made him a third round pick (which some peopel thoguth was to high for him) and not one of the top five tes

I think the biggest knock on Cooley was his speed (or lack thereof). According to the scouting report I saw, he runs a 4.89 40. That seems pretty slow to me, even for a TE. It may be hard for him to get any separation in this league. I think most LBs and Safeties run in the 4.6-4.7 range.

I think the biggest knock on Cooley was his speed (or lack thereof). According to the scouting report I saw, he runs a 4.89 40. That seems pretty slow to me, even for a TE. It may be hard for him to get any separation in this league. I think most LBs and Safeties run in the 4.6-4.7 range.

He did that at the combine, for his pro day he had dropped about 7lbs. and was running 4.7's, so he does have enough speed, I saw the highlight's of him and he looked plenty fast to me, maybe he's a rice type who just seem to have game speed, I know this, he run's very hard.